Bennett (Bourbon & Blood #1) (9 page)

“
It
’
s going to be a lean year,
”
Mia warned.
“
Once the waiting list is fulfilled, we
’
re not going to have that much left for distribution.
”

“
Rule number one, little sister,
”
he said, walking away,
“
Leave them wanting more. We
’
ll wet their whistles for our bourbon down South. Maybe we
’
ll start a new waiting list.
”

Mia watched him walk away, a spring in his step. Clayton was good with the hands on, day to day running of the distillery. He loved the process of making bourbon, of staying in touch with the family
’
s history that way. Quentin loved the wheeling and dealing aspect of working with distributors and sales channels.

For her, she liked holding on to the family
’
s history, but she didn
’
t make any mistake about her place in the business. There were other people who could take her place and do what she did. It didn
’
t require any special skill, though she supposed the tourists coming in off the Bourbon Trail did like to be guided through the distillery by someone who was actually a Darcy.

Heading up the stairs to Clayton
’
s office, she knocked softly and waited. He barked out a command for her to enter, and Mia
’
s eyes widened slightly at his tone.

“
I take it you
’
re having a bad morning?
”
she asked, walking into the office.

Clayton
’
s hair was mussed, his jacket was off, sleeves rolled back and his tie askew. It was just after nine in the morning and he looked ready to throw in the towel.
“
You might say that. Dad has been shopping again.
”

“
Shopping for what?
”
she asked, taking a seat across from his desk.

“
Women. Erica is in an uproar, threatening to quit
…
the problem with that is she knows all about this company. She knows about the massive auction of our product in Japan.
”

“
So she has the power to sink us, and now she has the motivation to do so,
”
Mia surmised.

“
That
’
s about it. So, don
’
t piss her off any more than necessary, okay? I can
’
t put out any more fires today.
”

“
What other fires have you had to put out?
”
she asked.

Clayton looked up then, but his face was shuttered, his expression completely unreadable.
“
Nothing important,
”
he said, shutting down further questions.
“
I
’
ve got work to do and so do you. If you want to look into working with Keenland, I need that proposal by the end of the day
…
and Mia, make damn sure that Bennett Hayes climbs down that tree outside your window before daylight next time, okay?
”

She blinked at him.
“
Excuse me?
”

“
Annalee brought the munchkin to me this morning so I could take her to school because she
’
s going to Louisville for something.
”

“
What
’
s she going to Louisville for?
”

Clayton
’
s mouth firmed.
“
I
’
m not her husband anymore. I don
’
t get to ask those kinds of questions. Point being, she saw him shimmying down that damn oak tree
…
Do what you want, but for the love of God, be discreet.
”

“
Were you or were you not the one who told me to go for it?
”

“
Yes. Go for it. Enjoy it. You deserve this and a hell of a lot more, but be smart about it. Samuel gets wind of this and everything I
—
.
”
He stopped abruptly.

“
Everything what? Clayton, just tell me what you
’
re doing. You
’
ve been keeping secrets and I know they
’
re about him and it
’
s costing you everything. Tell me and I will help you.
”

“
I can
’
t,
”
he said.
“
The things I
’
m working on, Mia, they
’
re not really above board. I
’
m not cutting corners with the business. I would
never
do that. But to get what I need on him, to get the upper hand that I have to have to make this work, I can
’
t play by the rules. And I won
’
t let anyone else take those risks.
”

“What things are you working on? Clayton, for the love of all that's holy just tell me! You're keeping all those secrets and it's going to be the death of you.”

He shoved his hands in his hair. “As much of a shit as Samuel's been to us, fucking people over isn't restricted to family. I'm digging, Mia, digging up every bit of dirt and filth on him I can... You can't do that without getting a little dirty yourself.”

“What have you done?” she asked, her voice a fearful whisper.

“Nothing that I can back away from. Not yet, anyway,” he answered softly.

“
This isn
’
t good for you,
”
she said, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Clayton was the best of all of them. He had a better heart and was just generally a more decent human being. It was eating away at him.

“
No, but he isn
’
t good for anyone. And if I can build a life here, for all of us, that he doesn
’
t get to taint with his presence, it
’
s worth the cost
…
So just be smart. Be discreet. And let me handle Samuel when the time comes.
”

Mia didn
’
t say anything else. At that point, she figured a dignified retreat was her best option. Heading for her office and the mountain of paperwork waiting there for her, she decided keeping he head down and staying out of her brother
’
s line of sight, and Erica
’
s, was her best option for the remainder of the day.

CHAPTER TEN

Bennett walked into the bar on Mill Street in downtown Lexington wearing a decades old t-shirt that he
’
d stolen back from Mia that morning. He
’
d told her she could have it back when she stripped it off of him. He was still grinning about her short and very blunt response to that while scanning the sea of faces. It was lunch time and the crowd was thick, but he could see Matt Crawford
’
s shaved head standing a good six inches over everyone else
’
s.

“
Bennett,
”
Matt called out unnecessarily.
“
Over here.
”

Bennett sidled up to the bar and ordered a beer. At just twelve thirty, it was a little early, but it had been a hell of a night.
“
Hey, man! Thanks for meeting me.
”

“
No problem,
”
Matt said, clapping him on the back.
“
You piqued my curiosity. What the hell is going on in Fontaine, these days?
”

Bennett looked around casually.
“
I need a favor
…
it
’
s about Mia.
”

“
That can of worms needs to be closed, sealed, burned, and the ashes fucking scattered. Will you never learn?
”
Matt said.

Bennett didn
’
t argue the point. Matt wasn
’
t saying anything to him that he hadn
’
t thought himself a dozen times over.
“
Little too late for that
…
the thing is, Matt, she
’
s in some kind of trouble.
”

“
On a scale of
‘
I need help moving a couch
’
or
‘
could be going to jail for something that will never allow me to vote or own handguns again
’
what are we talking about?
”

“
I think someone tried to kill her.
”

Matt set his beer down on the bar.
“
You
’
re gonna have to back up on that part.
”

Bennett sighed,
“
Did you hear about the accident?
”

“
Yeah. Wet roads and a spin out. She drives like a bat out of hell. Always did.
”

“
I know that,
”
Bennett said. He explained about the car, the tracks at the scene, and Mia
’
s reports of a dark SUV.
“
Then I saw it. Parked across the street from Revision.
”

Matt shook his head.
“
That
’
s all circumstantial, Bennett. Yes, it
’
s fishy, but it doesn
’
t mean anything.
”

“
I approached the SUV and they took off so fast they left half their tires behind
…
There
’
s something to this, Matt.
”

Matt leveled a hard stare at him.
“
I
’
m not saying you
’
re wrong. But you could be reaching. You like to be the hero. More to the point, you like to be
her
hero.
”

“
That
’
s not what this is about,
”
Bennett said, his tone even and without heat.

On a heavy sigh, Matt asked,
“
So who am I checking out?
”

Bennett smiled.
“
It
’
s nothing major. Her name is Erica McCoy. She works at Fire Creek
…
and she
’
s dating, if you want to call it that, Samuel Darcy.
”

Matt rolled his head on his shoulders.
“
Thanks for bringing this shit to my door. No one ever just calls me to go out for a beer.
”

“
We
’
re still having a beer,
”
Bennett said.
“
I
’
ll even buy.
”

“
In that case, I
’
m getting a better brand,
”
Matt said and signaled the bartender. After he
’
d ordered another round, he turned back to Bennett.
“
You know my sister was tangled up with a Darcy a while back
…
they have any relatives in Ireland as far as you know?
”

Bennett laughed.
“
Don
’
t give me shit about this when you
’
re doing fishing of your own.
”

Matt didn
’
t even bother to look guilty.
“
Loralei had it bad for this guy and he really did a number on her. I don
’
t have anything against Mia, Clayton or Quentin, but they
’
re not a bunch you want to tangle with if you don
’
t have to.
”

“
Why is that?
”

“
Because they
’
re all still circling around Samuel like he
’
s the center of the damn universe,
”
Matt answered.
“
Milk curdles when that son of a bitch walks past it. Never did like him.
”

“
Tell me how you really feel,
”
Bennett said with a grin before taking a long pull from his beer.

At that point, Matt
’
s phone went off. He cursed.
“
Looks like you
’
re going to have to owe me that beer for a while longer. I
’
ll text you anything I find out about Erica McCoy, specifically any vehicles registered to her that might fit the description.
”

Bennett thanked him and watched Matt go. While he was in town, he thought, he
’
d swing by and see Loralei. Heading out of the bar, he walked the few short blocks to Loralei
’
s shop. Set between an upscale wine market and a jewelry store, it screamed
‘
money
’
.

Opening the door, the little bell above it tinkled. Immediately, Loralei came from the backroom, holding some creature in her hand that might, if you stretched the imagination to the breaking point, be considered a dog.
“
What the hell is that thing?
”

She wagged her finger at him.
“
Haven
’
t seen you in a month of Sundays and the first thing you do is insult my dog?
”

Bennett grinned and then hugged her, ignoring the disgruntled huff from the creature in her hand.
“
Baby, I hate to break it to you, but whoever told you that thing was a dog
…
well, they just lied.
”

“
This is Churchill,
”
she said, pointing to the tiny, black pug that was snuggled in her hand.

Against his own better judgement, Bennett gave the little thing a scratch on its head. Immediately, its tongue dropped out of its mouth and it was panting happily.
“
All right. It
’
s a dog. I wouldn
’
t call it a smart dog, but it
’
s a dog.
”

“
Oh, no. Churchill isn
’
t smart,
”
she agreed readily.
“
He
’
s a dumb as a box of rocks. It
’
s part of his charm. And speaking of charm, what brings you to town? You never come here!
”

He lifted the pug from her hand and cuddled it. It couldn
’
t be more than a few months old.
“
Why on earth did you slap a dignified name like Churchill on this poor ignoble creature?
”

“
He isn
’
t named after a prime minister,
”
she stated, moving behind the counter.
“
He
’
s named after the cigars that belonged to my stepfather
…
after he chewed up the last one, Franklin told Mama that he had to go.
”

Bennett winced.
“
That had to be ugly.
”

“
Oh, it was. Franklin was shouting down the roof, but that
’
s the benefit of being somewhat less than brilliant like Churchill here
…
people yell and scream and you just don
’
t care,
”
Loralei added, with a cheeky grin.

That smile took him back to days of cutting school and cruising around in an old beat up car with her and Mia and whatever boy Loralei was crushing on at the time. She
’
d never settled on any one of them for long, though. Still, he missed those days. Sunshine and giggling girls in short shorts.
“
I
’
ve missed you. You ever coming back to Fontaine?
”

“
As long as my mother remains married to Franklin Bell … that would be a big No
.
She comes to town, we have lunch. She tells me I
’
m fat and should only order a salad. I cry. She gets offended and goes home. It
’
s our monthly routine,
”
Loralei added.
“
What about you? You can come to Lexington anytime you want. I keep telling Savannah whenever I see her that she needs to think about opening up another store here.
”

“
It
’
s on the table,
”
Bennett said.
“
We need to build up our stock a little more, but the damn stuff sells quicker than we can make it or find it
…
Speaking of siblings, I just had a beer with your brother.
”

Loralei rolled her eyes.
“
What was he bitching about now?
”

“
He
’
s not real fond of your ex-boyfriend. Wondered if maybe there was a family connection between your ex and mine.
”

“
Matt needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut,
”
she said quietly.
“
I don
’
t know if Ciaran has any connection to the Darcys or not. We
’
re not exactly on speaking terms these days.
”

“
Did you ever wonder?
”

She shrugged.
“
He was very good at distracting me whenever I asked questions about his past
…
Now, I
’
ve got a question for you, Bennett! Why are you suddenly so interested in the Darcys again?
”

Bennett considered telling her, but then thought better of it. Loralei would be nothing but a cheerleader for him and Mia, but there was no point in getting her hopes up just to dash them. Mia had made it very clear that whatever was happening between them at the moment was only temporary.

“
Just curious,
”
he hedged.

“
I have never, in all my life, seen two people who belonged together more than the two of you.
”

“
She left me, remember?
”
There was a little bit of anger in his voice, a little bit of the hurt pride still rolling under the surface.

Loralei looked at him archly.
“
She had reasons. Good ones that you don
’
t understand yet. Hopefully, someday you will.
”

He shook his head.
“
You still stick together on everything, don
’
t you?
”

“
I might not see her often anymore, but I
’
ll always have her back. And vice versa. Don
’
t break my girl
’
s heart, or I
’
ll make you pay.
”
Loralei picked up a necklace from the display stand he
’
d been staring at, a confection of sheer ivory ribbons and amber beads. She put it in a gift box and handed it to him.
“
Give that to her when you see her. I thought of her the minute it came in.
”

He didn
’
t deny it. There was no point in even trying. Instead, he kissed Loralei
’
s cheek, then headed for the door.
“
I
’
ll be seeing you,
”
he said softly before exiting her shop and heading home.